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No. 564,058 Patented July 14, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE LINK-BELT ENGINEERING'OOMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING COAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,058, dated July 14, 1896. Application filed July 31. 1895. Serial No. 557,774. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES M. DODGE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Apparatus for Handling Coal or other Material, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to construct an apparatus for handling coal and other granular material which can be used either to pile the material or remove it from the pile, as fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation illustrating my improved coalpiling apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a view illustrating more clearly the apparatus for removing the coal from a pile. Fig. at is a transverse sectional view on the line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5 5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlargedsectional View of a portion of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a detail view, partly in section, of the truck and bucket; and Fig. 8 is amodification showing an endless bucket elevator in place of the single bucket.

My invention is especially adapted for use in forming large and extended storage piles of coal. The coal can be stored in a long quadrangular pile to a certain height, over which can pass a traveling frame adapted to tracks at each side of the pile and having conveying mechanism, and at one side of the track is a conveyer which can deliver coal to or receive coal from the conveyer on the traveling frame, and this conveyer can receive coal from a tower or other source of supply and can deliver coal through a chute to the boats or cars On the traveling frame are movable hoppers or chutes, into which mechanically-operated buckets discharge the coal after scooping the coal from the pile, the parts being so arranged that as the mechanism controlling the buckets is adjusted to enable the buckets to properly attack the pile the hoppers are also adjusted to an advance point on the frame. Thus the loading movement of the buckets is regular. 7

By this invention I am not limited in the length of the pile by the-loading-frame, as the frame is mounted on tracks. Consequently the pile can be extended by simply extending the tracks and extending the fixed conveyer at the side, which is a very simple matter.

Referring in the first instance to Figs. 1 and 2, a a are the tracks upon which the traveling frame A is mounted. The frame has two standards A with extended bases, as shown in Fig. 5, and a single-span truss A extends from one standard to the other, leaving a clear space underneath for the pile of coal. The standards are supported on a series of trucks a, Fig. 5, and one of the standards may carry the'motor and driving mechanism for driving the conveyer-chain, the ribbon-feed for closing the bottom of the conveyer, and the ropes for operating the buckets or scoops, also the driving mechanism for laterally moving the traveling frame.

At one side of the tracks Ct is a frame B, supporting the conveyer-troughs b I). Between these troughs extends a portion A of the frame A, Fig. 6, carrying the receivingchute a and delivery-chute of, so that the conveyer of the traveling frame may receive coal from the upper conveyer b or deliver coal to the lower conveyer b.

The conveyer-chain 1) passes around wheels at each end of the structure B and has double flights which travel in both conveyer-troughs b b. The conveyer-chain can be driven in either direction and can be used either to carry coal in the upper trough and deliver it to the conveyer on the traveling frame or carry coal in the lower trough and receive it from the conveyer on the traveling frame.

" The frame B is a fixed frame and extends the full length of the pile, but if the pile is to be increased the frame can be readily extended. V I I In the present instance beyond the frame B are tracks 0 for a traveling tower 0, upon which is mounted bucket mechanism 0 and a chute 0, so that the coal can be "removed from a boat at the wharf and discharged into the conveyer b on the frame B. This tower and mechanism connected therewith forms no part of my invention.

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and at, on the girder A" of the frame A are suspended guideways cl d, for a movable apron d, forming the bottom of the conveyer-trough D. Adapted to this trough isa conveyer D,con

sisting of a series of flights connected to while the return-section travels over idlers (1 arranged at intervals along the frame. The

chain is driven from the motor mounted onone of the standards A At intervals throughout the length of the girder A are chutes D arranged on each side of the conveyer-trough D. E E are trucks adapted to rails (t suspended from girders a extending on each side of the truss A, and hung from these trucks are movable hoppers E, which can be brought into line with any one of the chutes D and locked in position, so that coal received by the hopper will be discharged through chute D with which they aline into the conveyer-trough D to be carried by the conveyer D to the point of discharge, which in the present instance is at the end of the truss A, directly above the conveyer-trough b 011 the frame B.

The truck E, supporting the hopper E, has four carrying-wheels e e and four wheels 6, adapted to the under side of the track (1 so as to prevent the tilting of the truck. Clamps E are adapted to the rails, one in front of and in the rear of the truck, so that when the j I duplicate of the bucket and hopper on the opposite side of the frame, so that two buckl ets may be used at once; but it will be un- I derstood that a single bucket may be used without departing from my invention.

hopper E is adjusted in position it can be locked there by the clamp E The hoppers are made in a peculiar manner, (shown in Figs. 3 and 4-,) each having an open top and cut away at the front to allow for the free discharge of the buckets G, and they are open at one side near the bottom, so that the coal will be discharged readily into the chutes D F is a truck adapted to the rails a and having traction-wheels f. Suspended by a rope g is a hooked block G, to which is hung the scoop-bucket G. This bucket is open at the top and has a hinged door g at the back, adapted to be locked to the bucket by bolts 9 These bolts are connected to a lever g the long arm of which strikes a plate a on the hopper-frame when the bucket is drawn back loaded, so that the door will be unbolted and the contents of the bucket discharged into the hopper E.

The rope g is fixed to the truck F at one end and passes around a pulley f to the operating mechanism at one end of the frame A. Attached to the opposite end of the truck is a rope g", which is used to draw the truck forward in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3. This rope also extends to the operatin g mechanism. Carried by the truck is a catch 71 pivoted at h, which engages with a stop 2', adjustably secured to one of the rails. This stop limits the forward movement of the truck and allows the catch to engage with it, so as to hold the truck in its forward position during the loading of the bucket. As

the bucket is raised by the rope g an extension g of the block G is engaged by a lever f which looks the bucket in the raised position, and as the catch 7b is connected to this trough 1).

lever the weight of the bucket on the lever raises the catch 7L and frees it from the stop 1'. As the draft upon the rope g is continued the truck will be carried back from its stop t to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the swinging door g of the bucket will be tripped and the coal discharged. The bucket is then ready to receive another load and by moving the truck forward by the rope g in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, it reaches a point where a trigger hwill strike a stop i. This stop is set on the frame sufficiently far from the hopper that the bucket is clear of the hopper when it is released by the trigger which unlatches the lever f and the bucket is then free from the truck and will descend by its own weight to the base-line of the pile. The truck in the meantime continues to move forward until it comes to the stop t' with which its catch h engages, locking the truck to the stop, so that when power is applied to the rope g the bucket will be drawn up against the bank of coal, as shown in Fig. 1, scooping sufiicient coal until it reaches the top, where it is engaged by the catch on the truck and carried by the truck to the hop per to be discharged.

As shown in Fig. 4:, I preferably arrange a Thus it will be seen that coal can be piled by my improved apparatus in a mass by using the upper conveyer b on the frame 13 and moving the conveyer D in the trough D and using the movable ribbon d to gradually close the bottom of the conveyer as the coal is piled, and coal can be removed from the pile by using the buckets and movable hopper and reversing the conveyer D, so that it will act as a carrier for the coal from the hopper to a point directly above the conveyer- The coal can then be carried along this conveyer-trough to suitable chutes to be loaded either upon vessels or cars.

It will be understood that I do not claim the construction of the buckets shown, and in some instances an endless bucket elevator (shown in Fig. 8) may be substituted for the bucket, also dispensing with the ropes and driving mechanism therefor. The elevator in this instance will travel forward with the hopper and may be suspended from the same truck.

While I have described the apparatus as particularly adapted to handle coal, it will be understood that it may be used for handling any material capable of being conveyed and piled.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination in apparatus for piling material and removing material from a pile consisting of the traveling frame, conveyertrough thereon, a conveyer adapted to carry material from or toward one end of the frame,

IIO

a fixed frame, with two conveyer-troughs, conveyers therein, one of said troughs adapted to discharge into the conveyer on the traveling frame and the other adapted to receive material from the conveyer on the traveling frame, substantially as described. 2. The combination of the traveling frame, conveyer thereon, a movable hopper on the frame, a truck, buckets suspended from the truck, and means for raising. the buckets to the hopper so that the buckets Will discharge into the hopper, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the frame, adapted to span the pile, a conveyer on said frame, a movable hopper carried by the frame and adapted to feed the conveyer, a track, a truck adapted to travel on said track between the hopper and a stop, a bucket carried by the truck and means for locking the bucket to the truck in the raised position and releasing the truck from the stop, means for discharging the bucket when it is above the hop buckets carried thereby, with a trough arranged at one end of the traveling frame, conveyer in said trough so that material received from the pile by the scoop-buckets will be delivered at any point along the fixed trough,

substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES M. DODGE. WVitnesses:

WILL. A. BARR, J 0s. H. KLEIN. 

